Daily Current Affairs and GK | 2 April 2024

Topic: International News

1. Bulgaria and Romania partially joined the Schengen area of Europe.

• Bulgaria and Romania have partially joined Europe’s Schengen area of free movement.
• In 2023, both countries reached an agreement to join the Schengen area. It will allow free movement by air, and sea.
• However, land border checks will remain in place due to opposition primarily from Austria.
• The Schengen Area formed in 1985 allows more than 400 million people in the European Union to travel freely without internal border controls.
• The Schengen zone now comprises 29 members, of which 25 are EU members. Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are also part of the Schengen area of Europe.
• Austria voted against Romania and Bulgaria’s admission into the Schengen zone at the end of 2022 but allowed Croatia to become a full member of the Schengen area.
• Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007 and Croatia in 2013.

Topic: National News

2. PM Modi addressed the opening ceremony of the 90^th anniversary celebrations of RBI in Mumbai on 01 April.

• He recalled the RBI's 80th anniversary celebration in 2014.
• He said the gross NPA of the banks has reduced from 11.25% in 2018 to below 3% by September 2023.
• According to PM, banks have seen a 15% increase in credit growth.
• The Reserve Bank's balance sheet total as of March 31, 2023, is ₹63 lakh crore.
• India currently holds the fourth-largest foreign exchange reserves globally, behind China, Japan, and Switzerland.
• In addition, he unveiled a commemorative coin to honor the RBI's 90th anniversary.
• The RBI has held the repo rate at 6.5% since February 2023.
• The RBI was established on April 1st, 1935. The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission govern it.
• Throughout its nine decades of existence, the RBI has had 26 governors.
• In October 2021, Shaktikanta Das became the governor of RBI.

Topic: International Appointments

3. Congo has appointed Judith Suminwa Tuluka as its first woman Prime Minister.

• She has been appointed by the President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• President Tshisekedi fulfilled a campaign promise. This is a step for forming a new government after Tshisekedi was re-elected late last year.
• Tuluka will take over the position at a time when violence in the mineral-rich east of the nation, which borders Rwanda, is on the rise.
• The UN estimates that over 7 million people have been displaced by the violence.
• More than 120 armed groups have long held control of eastern Congo, which is located far from Kinshasa, the country's capital.
• They want a share of the gold and other resources in the area.
• The M23 rebel group had gained a lot of territory in the east, which was one of the reasons for the recent upsurge in violence.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

4. An annual International Sanskrit Conference has been proposed by Indian and Nepalese Sanskrit scholars.

• Along with the conference, setting up of a study centre in Nepal has also been proposed.
• A five-point resolution was adopted at the Nepal-India International Sanskrit Conclave.
• The resolution also included collaboration on research and publication of Sanskrit scriptures.
• The focus will be on manuscripts unearthed in the Himalayan nation.
• The head office for Nepal-India Sanskrit Study Center will be the Niti Anushandhan Pratisthan.
• It will focus on the joint study and research of Sanskrit manuscripts.
• A resolution was adopted to support the development of gurukuls in Nepal with the collaboration of Maharshi Sandipani Veda Vidya Pratisthan, Ujjain.
• Central Sanskrit University, Delhi, will support libraries of Gurukuls in Nepal.
• The Nepal-India International Sanskrit Conclave was held in Kathmandu.
• It was organised by the Niti Anusandhan Pratisthan in association with the Central Sanskrit University, Delhi and India Foundation, Delhi.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

5. Vineet Jain received the ENBA Lifetime Achievement Award 2023.

• Times Group Managing Director Vineet Jain has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 by the jury of Exchange4Media News Broadcasting Awards (ENBA).
• This award is given for his "incomparable contribution to the Indian television news landscape".
• The award citation praised Jain for founding the group's TV platform, Times Network.
• This includes channels like Times Now, ET Now, Mirror Now, Times Now Navbharat, and ET Now Swadesh, which have shaped the way news is delivered in India.
• The jury of ENBA included former SC judge Justice AK Sikri (retd), Annurag Batra, chairman and editor-in-chief of exchange4media and Businessworld, and Dhanendra Kumar, chairman, of Competition Advisory Services (India) LLP, among others.

Topic: Important Days

6. World Autism Awareness Day 2024: 2 April

• Every year on 2 April, World Autism Awareness Day is observed to raise awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
• The day is celebrated every year to create awareness in people regarding those living with autism, especially children.
• The first World Autism Awareness Day was observed on April 2, 2008.
• The theme of World Autism Awareness Day 2024 is ‘Empowering Autistic Voices.’
• This day gives an opportunity to raise voices in support of people diagnosed with Autism.
• It encourages individuals, organizations, and governments to take steps to make a world more inclusive and accessible for people suffering from autism.
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a broad term used to describe a group of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Topic: State News/Uttar Pradesh

7. Fifteen products from Uttar Pradesh have been recently added to the list of Geographical Indication (GI) certified products.

• This has made Uttar Pradesh number one state in India in terms of GI-tagged products.
• UP now has 69 GI-tagged products. It has surpassed Tamil Nadu, which current has 58 GI-tagged products.
• Varanasi is the leader in GI-tagged goods production. It has 30 certified products.
• This is the maximum number from a single geographical area.
• The new GI-tagged products from UP include following.

Topic: Indian Polity

8. A notice has been issued by the Supreme Court to the Election Commission (EC) on a writ petition.

• The plea had sought a direction to mandatorily cross-verify the counts in electronic voting machines (EVMs) with the votes cast by counting all VVPAT slips.
• In contrast to the current procedure, the petitioner's advocate argued in favor of a full count of VVPAT slips during elections.
• Under the current procedure, verification is carried out of only five randomly selected EVMs through VVPAT paper slips.
• Simultaneous Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) verification was suggested in the petition.
• Almost ₹5,000 crore had been spent by the government to buy almost 24 lakh VVPATs.
• There were only about 20,000 VVPAT slips that could be verified.
• The petitioner requested that the EC should be directed to make the VVPAT machine's glass transparent.
• Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail:
  • With the help of VVPAT, voters are able to confirm that their votes were cast as intended.
  • A slip that has the candidate's name, symbol, and serial number printed on it is revealed for seven seconds via a transparent window when a vote is cast.
  • For the first time, VVPATs with EVMs were used in a bye-election from Nagaland's 51-Noksen (ST) assembly constituency.

Topic: Defence

9. Defence exports from India reached to Rs 21,083 crore in FY 2023-24.

• In FY 2023-24, Defence exports from India registered a growth of 32.5%.
• Defence exports touched to a record Rs 21,083 crore (approx. US$ 2.63 Billion) in the Financial Year (FY) 2023-24.
• Private sector and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) made significant contributions in achieving the highest-ever defence exports.
• DPSUs and the Private sector contributed 60% and 40% respectively in the defence export.
• The number of export authorisations issued to the defence exporters during FY 2023-24 has also increased to 1507.
• Between 2004-05 to 2013-14 and 2014-15 to 2023-24, the defence export has grown by 21 times. The defence export in the period 2014-15 to 2023-24 has gone up to Rs 88, 319 crore.
• The growth has been achieved due to the policy reform and ‘Ease of Doing Business’.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

10. SKOCH ESG Award 2024 has been conferred to the REC Limited in Renewable Energy Financing Category.

• REC Limited has received the SKOCH ESG Award 2024 in the Renewable Energy Financing Category.
• REC has emerged as a significant player to India's clean energy transition and actively contributing in the sustainable future of India.
• REC has committed to numerous sustainable projects and signed various MOUs for green projects.
• The SKOCH ESG Awards recognize organizations that show outstanding performance in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices.
• The SKOCH ESG Award and Assessment is an important benchmark for evaluating organizations' commitment to India 2047.
• REC Limited:
  • It was established in 1969 to focus on Power Sector Financing and Development across India.
  • It provides financial assistance to state electricity boards, state governments, and central and state power utilities.
  • It is involved in projects related to Generation, Transmission, Distribution and Renewable Energy.

Topic: Banking System

11. A proposal to sell a 100% stake in its subsidiary HDFC Education and Development Services Private Ltd. made by HDFC Bank.

• On March 30, HDFC Bank said in a regulatory filing that the transaction would be done through the Swiss challenge method.
• HDFC Bank has entered into a binding term sheet with an interested party.
• The offer contained in such a term sheet will serve as an anchor/base bid to receive counter offers from other parties interested in participating in the above Swiss challenge process.
• HDFC Bank will finalize the buyer based on the completion of the Swiss challenge process, following which the bank and the successful bidder will enter into definitive documentation for the purposes.
• HDFC Education is engaged in providing services to three education schools.
• Earlier, HDFC Bank was given approval by the RBI to retain its ownership in HDFC Edu for two years following the merger between Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC Limited) and HDFC Bank.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

12. Hardik Singh and Salima Tete named Player of the Year men and women at the Hockey India Awards 2024.

• On 31 March, Hardik Singh and Salima Tete were named Player of the Year 2023 among men and women respectively at the sixth annual Hockey India Awards.
• Hardik, who was also the FIH Player of the Year, was awarded the Balbir Singh Senior Trophy and a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh.
• With a total prize money of Rs 7 crore 56 lakh, the awards honored teams and individuals for their achievements over the past year.
• The 2016 Junior World Cup-winning men's team was also honored at the event, eight years after their victory.
• The federation also announced the revival of the Hockey India League (HIL) in January 2025.
• Last held in 2017, the HIL will be a five-week competition with eight men’s and six women’s teams with auctions for the same likely to be held after the Paris Olympics.
• The Indian teams that won the Junior Asia Cup and the men's and women's Asian Champions Trophy were also rewarded along with the men's Asian Games winning team.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

13. Microsoft and OpenAI are planning to invest $100 billion in the Stargate AI supercomputer.

• Microsoft and OpenAI are working on a data centre project.
• It would contain a supercomputer to power OpenAI’s artificial intelligence models. The cost of the project will be $100 billion.
• Microsoft is financing the project. The Stargate supercomputer will be the fifth phase of a series of supercomputers.
• The fourth phase supercomputer for OpenAI is likely to be launched around 2026.
• At present, Nvidia is one of the largest suppliers of high-end chips.
• The high cost of building the supercomputer is one of the factors for bottlenecks in the supply of high-performance GPUs.

Topic: National News

14. Katchatheevu Island issue emerged after PM Modi blamed the Congress Party for giving it to Sri Lanka in 1974.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an attack against the Congress party for giving Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka in 1974.
• Katchatheevu Island is an uninhabited island spanning 285 acres in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. It is 1.6 km in length and more than 300 m wide.
• St. Anthony's Church is the only structure on Katchatheevu Island. It was built in the 20th century.
• When did the Katchatheevu controversy begin?
  • Sri Lanka claimed sovereignty over Katchatheevu due to the Portuguese occupation of the island from 1505 to 1658.
  • India claimed it due to possession by the Raja of Ramnad as part of its estate.
  • Katchatheevu has been a disputed territory between India and Sri Lanka since the British era.
  • The island was ceded to Sri Lanka by the government of India through an agreement in 1974.